“Damn, I should have brought my tripod.” It was my first day touring around Lima, Peru and I was checking out the beautiful murals of the Barranco art district. Some of the walls were truly incredible and I wanted to get some shots in front of them. Eh, I rarely ask strangers, I’d rather just do it myself. But this time around ended up being different.

Fashion is not frivolous. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that employs millions of people globally. Fashion is art. Even in protest, once we shut down art, society crumbles. Fashion can make a statement and there are far fewer platforms that attract more eyeballs than New York’s international fashion week.

My notes on being a black American in Paris. Would I be following in the footsteps of other creative who sought refuge there during troubled American times á la Miles Davis or Josephine Baker? Or would I occupy a strange in between space?

We are decades away from the 1967 Supreme Court Loving ruling but interracial couples still navigate a few minefields in society. Michele and I are happily in a partnership where we discuss these things rather openly.